We all have frustrating moments as reseller/sellers on Amazon or eBay. I like to try to take these with a grain of salt, do what I can to deal with them and move on. Part of that process is sometimes creating a meme to vent 🙂 I also have fun when celebrating a great moment
Have any of your own or any favorites you have found?
Yep it’s that time again that can test our strength if not prepared. Time for the triple whammy of taxes! As I am writing this the deadline for filing taxes is fast approaching (tomorrow actually). Thanks to a slow down in the studio business, if one can be thankful for that, my income tax bill was not that bad this year and the money was set aside. Still painful to write the check (or press the send button) I think everyone needs to pay this way then maybe we would actually have lower taxes.
Here April is also the time for the second installment for property taxes. Luckily even through the slow down we were having money automatically set aside each month so had that covered as well.
To complete the trifecta of taxes are the state sales tax. Being self-employed and selling physical products I of course need to collect and then forward on to the state sales tax each quarter. This is a little harder as I have not been doing to well setting it aside but getting better at it.
Oh wait this year there is a bonus. I received a warm letter saying last year’s return has been re-evaluated and we owe additional taxes.
Well one thing I have been learning through my recent journey is patience. Patience and putting aside worries of the future and dealing with one thing at a time. This is defiantly one of those times and I must say I’m dealing with it a lot better this time than I would have a year ago.
So what tests to your patience have you had lately?
Ya, that’s my leg there looking like a porcupine (sexy legs though huh). I have read, and been told,that acupuncture is a great therapy for all sorts of aligments. Such as in my case pain, fatigue, trouble sleeping as well as digestive disorders. The thought of having needles stuck into me and left there never really appealed to me though. Also their was the cost factor as it is generally not covered by insurance (of course I fell into that category)
Well an opportunity came up that I could give it a try for free, ya I know in hindsight you get what you pay for. A local natural therapy clinic was having an open house and offering free Accupuncture and massage for the day, hey can’t beat that. So I head over and signed up, first getting a chair massage which was just ok. Then I got called in for my poking.
First off to keep costs and your fee down it is done in a “community” environment, meaning its a large room where up to 8 people can be getting treatment at the same time. Knowing this when I walked in my first impression was good. The room was done in tranquil colors, meditative music playing softly, each “bed” (this done in air quotes as I will explain) area had semi transparent fabric material draped between them (but you could still see each other, especially across from you). I was guided by dr. beardface (If you ever watched scrubs you’ll understand, was his twin) to my “bed” and sat down, yes sat. Now I’ll explain the bed part, it was kind of a sophisticated patio furniture with a bed sheet over it. You sat down then they reclined you back before the treatment.
After being reclined in a comfy position the acupuncturist asked me “what could they do for me today?”. Besides wanting an ice tea but knowing I wasn’t getting one I explained that I was diagnosed with fibro but today only thing bothering me was shoulders, neck and jaw clenching. Oh and that it was my first time so be gentle. Next he told be to stick out my tongue, checked my pulse quickly the started jabbing me with needles. No warning, no this will not hurt a bit or “any questions” just started sticking it to me.
I’m not ashamed to say some actually hurt.
I didn’t cry or anything, I’m still a dude, but I was told they wouldn’t hurt by others.This should have been a clue to just stop and leave but already had a dozen needles in me so I thought I’d see how it goes. After he was done he said to relax and he would be back in a bit. Yes I’m going to relax with a couple dozen needles in me. So I prepared to enter zen mode and chill out for awhile when I noticed him heading over to one of those “beds” across from me where a patient had just left. He grabbed the sheet I just kind of flicked it up to get all the wrinkles out and smooth it making it look fresh THEN BROUGHT THE NEXT PATIENT IN. This was my second clue, I mean what if the person before me was a bit sweaty and had cooties or something. I know they try to keep costs down so you get a low fee but this was just wrong.
20-30 mins later he came back to me and started removing needles. Again no word of warning, no how are you feeling just started plucking me like a turkey and some of them felt worse coming out then they did going in. When done he just said take your time and left.
The worst part of all this is starting an hour or so afterwards I started having an anxiety episode that lasted well into the next day. Not sure if it was a coincidence or a combination of things from the day but I haven’t had an anxiety episode in a few months, so this does make me a little leery of acupuncture at the moment. Now I know with their open house they may have been seeing a few more people than normal and most they will never see again, but they could have been a little more personable (thats how you get future clients right?) and changed the sheets. I hope both of these items are different when they actually see clients on a normal basis.
This clinic normally operates on a non-profit status and offers services on a sliding fee schedule based on your income. This is great to help those that can’t afford it normally and are seeking alternative therapies, but due to my first experience with them I will not use them. I’ll save my pennies for elsewhere.
On that note I have not been totally turned off to acupuncture. My chiropractor offers it as well and I think she is great so may have a go with her soon. Also found another that came highly recommended with lower fees than most that I’m looking into as well, and she teaches yoga as well! Win Win.
So moral of the story is do your research first, get recommendations, and even interview the person first to see how you feel about them. Its not something to try on “free” day.
Have you tried acupuncture? How was your experience? Let me know in the comments below, would love to hear about it.
Hello everyone! Well at least the 6 subscribers I have if you are still there. Been a bit since I posted on this blog but going to change that. You see I have been running several blogs and on a few it gets to be hard to decide which blog a post should go to. This blog started off being purely financial but then had some off subject posts about health or other things. Meanwhile I had my A Frogs Diary blog which was started for talking about my health issues with General Anxiety and Acid Reflux. It over time became all about health issues and trying to get healthy again.
So I decided to combine the two into one blog to be more of a life and lifestyle blog about everything. This blog will be the final result focusing on the the multiple streams of my life. Financial, Physical and Spiritual. I have already sucked all the posts from A Frogs Diary into this site and over time I will be cleaning up the categories and making everything mesh well together.
Lately the financial stream hasn’t been the best but many are in that boat as well. Physicaly the health has shown some improvement and will get into details of that later. Then there’s the spiritual side of life. I have never really mentioned that in any blog post but have gone a new direction there lately as well and I believe it works for me. Some hints may have been dropped on facebook but I will get into more of that later as well
I have many posts going through my head and try to compose them while in the shower but they dont always seem to make it to the computer 🙂 have to work on that more.
Well all you financial bloggers that started with me in the beginning I hope you will stick around and give your two cents from time to time. Life is not always about the money
Till next post!
Peace and Love
Jeff
Responsible gaming environment
When online casinos first came online, there were not very many of them. Therefore, choosing a site was quite simple. However, this has all changed today. With so many online casino out there, the decision to select a site is much more complicated. There are different aspects of an online casino that consumers can examine to assess whether the site is one they wish to join.
When needing to contact an online casino like JackpotCity.co.uk/mobile-casino, reputable sites will always make this easy for players to do. Usually some section of their website will provide with contact methods. One of these should be a phone number. When needing assistance, many customers prefer to speak with a live human who represents the online casino. Other forms of contact may include email and chat forums. Live operators who work for the site are in the chat rooms ready to answer questions.The more contact options an online casino site presents, the better. You may want to test out some of the methods to ensure they are operational.
Once you’ve determined that a site is safe, then it is time to register your information as well as link up a funding source is you’re planning to gamble with real money. Anytime you give any information to the site, it should be done through their actual site. Never do this through email even if it appears the site sent the email. When going to the site, check the address bar when you get to the information pages. The address should begin with an https. This indicates that the connection is a secure one. It will in fact scramble your data before it passes over the internet. This keeps dishonest people from obtaining your sensitive personal information as well as your financial information.
This post published by Tom Shannon
Coming from Sheffield, Tom’s hobbies include writing and recording music, and creating video games. He also runs events to do with video games where people come to watch tournaments. Tom is currently studying in his final year at university.
I had an ‘Ah-Ha’ moment this week during and after an image competition. This was in regards to Buddha’s teaching of the four noble truths and how it applied to my life. The first 3 of the Noble Truths are:
1. Suffering exists
2. Suffering arises from attachment to desires
3. Suffering ceases when attachment to desire ceases
I have discovered that my ‘attachment’ to winning at these competition has led to suffering. When desiring something so bad and becoming attached to it you may feel good on achievement but that is typically fleeting and not permanent. In trying to achieve this desire you can find yourself on the side of many negative emotions that lead to suffering. For someone like me this can even manifest in physical suffering as well as emotional.
My desire to score high in completion resulted in very strong anxiety. You may say that is common, but I’m not talking a few butterflies in the tummy. More like a swarm. My chest gets very tight and becomes hard to breathe, along with Naseua and dizziness. Even when I do score high this will continue on with each new image presented waiting to see if they score higher. Then the judging for best of class and if I make it that far best of show.
This isn’t the only feelings I have. I find myself resentful at times when a judge says something negative about my image or judgmental if another image out scores me and I don’t agree. I will internally argue with the judges thinking the dont know what they are talking about, I did that thing you dont like on purpose and so on. All this internalizing leaves me tired and not feeling well into the next day as I continue to dwell on it.
I’m not saying I’m going to stop entering these competitions or strive to do my best at them. Just that I need to change they way I view and react to them instead of feeling that the judges need to be changed or are always wrong. Image competitions are meant to be an educational experience and that’s the way I need to look at them. It’s not a life or death thing and I need to have more fun with it, enjoy the experience and share that joy with the others that do well. Even when they do better than me :).
Have you ever been overly competitive to the detriment of your health?
With fibromyalgia different treatments effect different people in different ways. It’s often like that expression lets throw everything at the wall and see what sticks. When you are trying so many things at once how do you know what is really helping and what is not?
Treating Fibro is very much trying many things and finding a right combination that helps you the most, most of the time. Along with this thought process I have been doing many things and adding more to the tool box as I discover them. Starting of course with medications that got me to a point where I could focus on doing more here is my list of what I am currently doing:
Effexor
Ambien
Gabapentin
Vitamins D3, B12, B Complex
Fish Oil
Magnesium
Meditation
Mindful breathing
Yoga
Cycling/Walking
Swimming
Chiropractic
Massage therapy
Diet changes
Pain Management Therapy
May seem like a lot but again you want to try any and everything to find relief. I didn’t just start doing everything at once but been adding things the past couple months. Some are daily, others a couple times a week or month.
So there in lies the problem. I have been for the most part been feeling better. More tolerable may be a better term. Of course I still have those days that are not so great (especially with this last heat wave) but overall decent and more functional. So how do I know what has worked and perhaps what is a waste of time?
I ask more rhetorical cause like I mentioned I think it’s a combination of treatments so I really don’t see me cutting anything out. Well I would of course like to be more drug free but we’ll see how that goes.
So for any of you that are still seeking a solution, I say keep trying new ideas. Add to your tool box of relief until you find the right combination.
Whats in your tool box?
I follow and read many blogs and today’s post from one of my favorites hit me that I had to share it. I shared the link on my Facebook this morning but posting it here for my readers.
Happiness is a choice that comes from within. – Being happy doesn’t mean everything is perfect, it means you’ve decided to look beyond the imperfections. There are choices you can make every day to feel the effects of happiness. Choose to be around the right people. Choose to focus on what you have, not on what you haven’t. Choose a good attitude. Choose to express gratitude. Choose to forgive. Choose to take care of your body. Begin today by taking responsibility for your own happiness. The choice is yours.
Consider this – Knowledge without action is not growth.
Peace and Love, Jim
If you would like to read more from Jim head to his site and add it to your blog reader, The Daily Buddha
Daughter with favorite character (well she likes Matt Smith better)
Lately I have been feeling pretty decent. Don’t know why, I’ve been trying everything, but I have. Along with changes in attitude and priorities I decided to have a father/daughter day and take her to the Aerospace museum. Now in the past if I agreed to go do something like that I would typically rush through it, afraid of an upcoming episode of pain and or nausea, or just plain wearing out to quickly. When done I would say that we needed to get home cause I didn’t feel well and/or needed to get work done. Yesterday was quite different…
We started at the Aerospace museum, it was free Tuesday, and we took our time. I explained a lot of the items there and she was actually interested (I think). Afterwards we went next door to the Automotive Museum, again free Tuesday, and she really liked the old cars there. From there we actually walked around the whole park just chatting about stuff. It was great, most we have chatted in ages. As I noticed some soreness returning in the shoulders I would pause, mentally, breath, acknowledge it and it would become less noticeable.
Next we headed down to University Heights and stopped in a little coffee shop I had found last week and got some ice tea. Then headed to a couple Buddhist shops to look around. Again I was surprised to see her interest in some of the stuff, especially the rocks and crystals which she seems to have a thing for (just look at the rock collections outside the house). She asked a lot of questions about who Buddha was and what its about and listened well.
Not wanting to stop there on the way home we detoured and went to the top of mount Helix, since she has never been, to take in the sites there. Finally we stopped by the library to get some books and the Cupcake Store next to it for some treats. It was a hot and muggy day but when of the best days I have had in ages. I really put the mindfulness to work by focusing on the moment the whole time, enjoying time with my daughter and not worrying about upcoming things or work that needed to be done. I didn’t even think about how I hurt or being tired and the heat didn’t bother me either.
Today we are headed to the YMCA for a swim and yes Ill be getting in the water too 🙂 something I hadn’t done in the past times I have actually taken here to the pool. Then topping it off with pedicures and Starbucks (tea for me).
In the past 8 years this all would have been unheard of from me, but as I work on healing and finding myself through mindfulness I have found that family time can be just as healing and needs to be a priority. I’m not perfect and still have much more to go, but I am putting things into to practice more. Its exactly that, practice. By definition something that we continue to work at to get better. Family needs to be a priority just as much as exercise, work and nutrition.
In fact it should be up at the top
In an interest to work on my health issues the natural way I have been doing my best to eat more fruits and fresh veggies. This means at least 2 if not 3 trips a week to my local health food store or farmers market.this gets time consuming, costs cost and the veggies are not cheap. This lead me to thinking about doing the backyard garden again, except for a few minor things:
I saw this Tower Garden that used hydroponics but ouch $500. So after doing research on it online and I was hooked on building my own.
Hydroponics basically is growing plants without your traditional soil. Using water, liquid nutrients and sometimes an inert media to hold the plant. There are many different types of systems and you can build a small basic one for less than $100.
Of course with my OCD small and basic is out of the question. Looking online I got a few ideas and combining a few together I built my first system, a combo hydroponics/aeroponics rails using 8′ vinyl fence post from Lowes. Aeroponics is using sprayers or misters to spray the plant roots with the nutrient solution. This oxygenates the mixture more and is great for the plants. Often resulting in faster growth and greater yield.
The system is recirculating so I just check the Ph and water level once in a while and it takes care of itself. Every 2-3 weeks I drain the reservoir and add new nutrient solution.
Benefits of Hydro:
What Can You Grow?Well the most known crop of course is that unmentionable weed, but besides that you can grow just about anything. In the first system I have peppers, bush cucumbers, bush tomatoes, Brussel sprouts and strawberries. Being a lean-to vertical system it can do 32 plants in a 3′ x 8′ area. I built a second system with smaller pots for our leafy greens. Spinach, lettuce, kale and herbs which we are starting all from seed? It can do 75 plants in a 3′ x 10′ area! If you can grow it in soil you can grow it without as well. May be more difficult for your root plants such as carrots, radish and onions, but it can be done.
Did I mention my OCD? Hydroponics is great for indoor growing but the lights are pretty expensive and in San Diego the sun is out pretty much 80% of the time but it can get cold. So I’m building a green house 🙂 This way we can grow pretty much year round! I also have plans for a Dutch bucket system for the vining tomatoes, cucumbers broccoli and cauliflower. also a completely vertical tower system(s) for strawberries. I’m hoping to become self sufficient as far as our greens and veggies go. Spending the money do for the systems which can be used over and over again, just have to buy the nutrient solution. Found a hydroponic store around the corner for that but you can buy it online. It seems pricey but it goes a long way.
I’m also looking at building a water reservoir that will hold water to be dechlorinated, then will automatically top off the nutrient reservoirs by float valves. Making it that much easier to maintain the systems!
Hydroponic systems can be built as small or as large as you wish, outdoors or indoors. Making it a great way to grow your food no matter where you live or any climate. Live where it snows, then have a grow room or just a small tub system in the corner. Same thing if you live in an apartment, you can have a small tub growing tomatoes and lettuce in the kitchen or maybe you have a balcony or small deck you can but a system outside. The internet is full of ideas and plans for building hydroponic systems for very little money (or you can be like me and go crazy). The biggest expense in starting is the tools if you dont have them. Hey if your local and need some help or would like a system built for you let me know and I’ll give you a quote!
Stay tuned, I’m thinking seriously of starting another blog on this so I can do updates on everything and more details on the builds 🙂
Last week J Money over at Budgets are Sexy had a post of a list of things he does and does not pay for, which he got off a couple other blogs doing the same thing. So I decided to play along going of their lists and showing what I do and don’t pay for in my life 🙂
Looks like I may be more frugal than J Money 🙂
What about you? How do you do on the list?
